What a difference the clouds make

 Another Oakland Camp area adventure.  I got out there around 9:00 and suddenly felt cold.  Cloud cover and no jacket.  I then realized I forgot to bring my camera.  I'm not too good with the camera on my iPhone.  Usually have trouble seeing stuff on the screen with the glare and my aging eyes.  However, look what I got?  The cloud cover not only eliminated the glare on my screen, but also tends to render the colors of flowers more natural and less likely to produce "noise."  As a bonus, this is the first time I've seen a crab spider on Pennyroyal (above).  I was still hoping to improve on my record of only one Red Milkweed Beetle for the season - found yesterday - so I headed straight to the best milkweed patch in this particular area.

 This dropping cluster of milkweed blossoms (above) seemed to have particularly bright and beautiful sepals, so this side view intrigued me.  As I viewed the above photo, enlarged, on my screen, I noticed a little bug. I came in for closer and closer shots and figured I'd see what I had when I got these photos onto my laptop screen.

 Wow!  It was a plume moth.  Suddenly, as in this last photo (below), I decided the "subject" was the plume moth rather than the sepals of the milkweed.

 Then, nearby, I saw the Common Checkered Clerid Beetle on another milkweed.  I usually always find them on daisies, so this was a treat.

 As if Mother Nature was reading my mind, just a few steps away was another Clerid, but this time on a daisy.  This trip was already exceeding expectations.

 The milkweeds seem to grow in patches of like kind.  The Purple, or Heartleaf Milkweed is nearly done for the season with flowers turning to pods and the leaves looking brown and beat up.  I didn't try for any photos of them.  But after checking all the Showy Milkweeds in this particular patch, I moved on to my favorite spots for Narrow-leaf Milkweeds (below).

 What a treat!  A very colorful aphid gathering, along with a nondescript black beetle.

 Finally, I wandered a patch of Pennyroyal, many of which were resting places for bees that had not yet woken up on this cool morning.  Easier, if less interesting, photos were taken, but none m,ore exciting than the one at the top with a crab spider.

Finally! Hundreds of milkweeds later.

 There's a little roadside bluff overlooking Thompson Valley where the east end of Chandler Road meets Highway 70.  I figured the weed eaters are not likely to have done their work except on the level portion maybe 6 feet from the edge of the pavement.  There are hundreds of Showy Milkweed still standing.  I figured if there's still a chance of photographing the Red Milkweed Beetle this season, this would be the place.  I patiently looked over every plant for nearly a half hour. 

 As you can see, there are three tiny seed pods.  Most of the milkweeds on this bluff are past their prime as far as showy flowers and wonderful fragrance are concerned.

 Then I spotted a shiny blue something from around 20 feet away on a cluster of flowers that still looked pretty fresh.  I thought it must be a metallic candy wrapper.  As I got closer, I realized it was a beetle, so I came in closer for the above shot.  I then repeated my sequence of checking each plant, this time tipping leave and flower clusters to see if any Milkweed Beetles might be hiding underneath.

 It was exciting to find this rather large Crane Fly, but still no Milkweed Beetles.  I decided to head down Chandler Road to a place not far from the Taylor Creek crossing where there is usually an impressive stand of Showy Milkweeds by the edge of the road.  With my kuck, I thought they might already have been cut down to provide better visibility for the thousands of out-of-town guests arriving for the High Sierra music festival.  But there they were!  I parked and started checking the plants, one by one, for the presence of beetles.

 I had almost given up when I spotted ONE on a milkweed that was still blooming.  For old times' sake, I decided to play with it for a while, take some photos of her in my hand, using y wedding ring for scale ...

 and trying to get a good view of the head so viewers could see how the antennae sort of split the eyes, giving the appearance of four - thus the name Tetraopes.

 Finally, I placed her back on the flower cluster, no worse for the wear, and hoped she leaves many eggs behind for next year.

 There are more photos coming on other topics from this morning's trip, but I am particularly pleased with this last one taken by the last bridge on the way into Oakland Camp.  A Western Swallowtail butterfly on Pennyroyal.  Click on it, or on any of the above, for closer views.

From the archive, 2015

 Photographed locally, except for stick insect, around July 3, 2015, but have seen none of these so far this year.  This morning I will make one last attempt to find a Red Milkweed Beetle, Tetraopes basalis.  I found the Praying Mantis two years ago while helping my son pull weeds away from the fence along his driveway.  It was friendly - pr at least not unfriendly - as it stayed on my hand for several minutes.

I lived the color of this grasshopper, especially the translucent hind legs.

 Stick insect sent by my brother from north of Dallas.

Taken a few hundred yards from Lee Summit.  None this year.  Weed eaters and/or herbicides most likely culprits.

Why?

Herbicide? Flame thrower? The war against nature continues.  But, then, the flowers being controlled are not native anyway? 

Oakland Camp Area Miscellany

Hiding in plain sight

Think Globally; Observe Locally